#also nathalie will need all the help she can get

[somereaderinblue]

Interlude

Gotham Menagerie Menace AU: 1 | 2 | 3

-Kagami always sensed something off about Gotham. Like a perpetual storm cloud constantly lingered overhead, thunder rumbling but downpour not starting....not yet at least. The first week, goosebumps prickled across her skin, hairs standing on end. However, she's proud to say she has adapted. That doesn't mean she's let her guard down (just ask the 12 failed mugging attempts).

-Still, Gotham Academy lived up to its reputation. She's there for a student exchange program & finds herself enjoying it. The best part of it was undeniably her 2 new friends: Damian & Skylar.

-She clicked well with the former & the latter had 0 problems adopting 2 introverts. They bonded over art, expectations, swordsmanship, manga & enjoyed silent companionship.

-One day, Skylar brings up rumors of a mini menace in the seedier parts of the city. A stray whom, if fed will protect others from harm. But if crossed, will scratch your skin off & curse you with bad luck.

-Kagami’s curiosity is piqued. She’s kept up with the news in Paris & knew abt Adrien’s disappearance which coincided with CN’s ‘betrayal’. This was a possible lead.

-And well, she never hesitates.

-She shares the news with her newest & now closest bodyguard (re: friend), the Gorilla. Together, they venture in search of Gotham’s newest stray.

-Unbeknownst to her, Damian has shared similar news with his family, prompting Nightwing, Red Hood & Robin to investigate.

-In the airport, Nathalie and (her recently adopted) the kids set foot in Gotham for the first time. Two of them have brooches gleaming under their hoodie/coat respectively & all them carry a taser and/or mace spray.

-In a basketball court that’s seen better days, Stray plays with a group of street kids, cheering as one of the shorter boys finally got the ball through a hoop, blissfully unaware of the chaos that’s soon to erupt with him as the eye of the storm.

[familyagrestefanblog]

Ladynoir in Bug Noire's design:

I need a break writing other posts so let's talk about a detaile I appreciate so freaking much about Bug Noire’s design:

This entire design SCREAMS how much Marinette wished Chat Noir were with her right now and how much she needed him (which she absolutely did, she fucking LOST.)

Chat Noir is with her as the legs that carry her, the shoulders and arms that support and steady her.

In her eyes while she keeps wearing her normal mask, so that when Monarque looks her in the eyes he not only sees her as Ladybug she's also pircing him with every eye-contact with one of Chat Noir's most distinguishing featurs: his green non-human eyes. And it's noteworthy that here it's of crucial importance that her mask and eyes do NOT combine the two miraculous as the rest of her outfit does. Cause now every time Gabriel looks in her eyes she's making him ackowledge them as seperate individuals.

Marinette is not just standing here as Bug Noire for herself, she's also representing her partner who she lost to Gabriel and wants to get back:

Which - if I may point out - is extremely relevant in this fight because Marinette just saw how badly Gabriel treated Nathalie who then met her end right in front of Marinette because she sacrificed her life and health to help him as Mayura:

Ladybug and Hawkmoth BOTH lost their partners that day but only ONE of them honored hers in this last battle because Marinette ackowledges that she wouldnt have gotten this far without Chat Noir, meanwhile Gabriel in the end basically completely disregarded Nathalie and everything she ever did for him.

But let's continue.

Chat's in her ears that have his green all around on its borders because she most likely can hardly imagine him without his extra ears on his head (Mister Bug being the only rare exception), and then topped it off with a hair style reminding of her Lady Noire hair.

And in the weapons she fought with. Bug Noire fought so much more with Chat's baton than with her own yo-yo which she also colored exclusively in his colors while only changing the footprint color to her red. The yoyo accurately represents Chat's colors (mainly black) while for the baton the main colore should have ben red to represent her suit (but I get why they didnt to that. Not only is she here wearing her suit and red as her main color, it also wouldnt have fit very well overall)

And the weapon with which she hit the butterfly miraculous off of Gabriel was the baton too. The fight choreography took so much care to have Marinette include Chat's baton and cataclysm as much as possible. She didn't just wore both of the miraculous, she fought for the BOTH of them. Using Chat's things so often because thats all she has left of him right now and incorporating him so crucially into her suit design that it's heartbreaking. She literally projected the support Chat gives her onto her suit design because she wished so BADLY that he was by her side right now.

[marinettesaltprompts]

Inspired by one of maribat-menagerie's proposals

One of the big things that happen in almost every Maribat fic is Adrien getting stripped of his Miraculous so a batboy can be the Black Cat. But you could actually play with this idea of Adrien becoming Catwoman's apprentice/accomplice:

The story starts in stereotypical Maribat fashion with Marinette feeling unappreciated for her efforts and easily falling for whatever Batboy came into town to solve all her problems. Things progress as normal: Robin uncovers Gabriel, Lila gets sent packing and Adrien gets thrown to the wolves because he didn't do what the Batboy did- left to enjoy the association of being Hawkmoth's son while losing Plagg.

Because it turns out that Ladybug does actually believe in the idea that the holders of creation and destruction are soulmates, just not with him.

Anyhow normally this is where Adrien's story in a Maribat fic would end. He's condemned to a mundane life of public disgrace and suffering while Marinette goes to Gotham to live the superhero dream.

But not this time. Sure, Marinette leave with her Box and the Ring now fits on Robin's finger, but Adrien's not quite done. Sure it seems that way and as he retreats from public life under the heat of condemnation he falls into a deep depression. He's lost everything. His friends (can't be associated with Hawkmoth's son). His family (Nathalie is probably dead, Gabriel is in prison forever and The Gorilla needs employment after all). Even his home was seized by the The State- if not for a small trust fund Nathalie had had the foresight to set up for him he'd have nowhere to live at all.

The best he can do is live in an old house far in the countryside, hoping that people won't recognize him with his dyed black hair. At this point, all Adrien has to his name of his old life are his parents rings- one last gift snuck to him by Nathalie. Holding a secret within whose revelation robbed him of even his humanity.

It seems that after everything he did to try and make a life for himself outside of his gilded cage, he's doomed to spend his life in this new one. A cage made of crumbling old walls who were his only protection from a hostile world beyond them.

At least until one day, a certain Cat shows up. Not Plagg as Adrien dreamed of seeing again, or even the Robin who appeared in his nightmares to taunt him, but the infamous antihero Catwoman.

She' was surprised that he noticed her sneaking in, but Adrien's senses were still sharp from his time as Chat Noir. But it makes no real difference, one way or the other she's leaving with what she came for: The Graham de Vanily rings.

It turns out that his dear Auntie still wanted "her heirlooms" back, so she'd contracted Catwoman to go get them. Normally she wouldn't take such contracts, but with the Bats having ready access to magical jewellery her usual picking grounds were becoming harder to play in.

This breaks something in Adrien. After everything he's lost, after everyone had abandoned him in one way or the other, after neither Felix or Amelie could be bothered to help him in his time of need they still wouldn't let him have his soul?

Catwoman seems bemused by his spluttering, but she's intrigued enough to let him elaborate. Adrien knows from one look at her that he has no chance of beating her in a fight anyway, she'd get his rings one way or the other so he might as well tell her the truth. It's not like he owed anyone his silence and no one had actually cared about his side of the story since he'd lost Plagg.

So he spills. He takes the chance to rant about his situation, how he'd tried his best to be Ladybug's partner but he'd been pushed away, sidelined without cause. how his parents had had a magical slave collar on him since his creation. How his friends had abandoned him, how Ladybug who'd promised him "them against the world" had dropped him like garbage the second she'd gotten a "better model".

Selena listens, but she also happens to know Marinette herself- at least through others and knows the story on both sides now. So she bemusedly tries to correct him- only to find herself corrected:

Catwoman: You didn't exactly try to help her that much did you though?

Adrien: Ladybug pushed me away every time I tried. But I was always there for her. Every time she needed someone to fall on his sword for a plan. Every time she needed a shield I used myself. The one time I failed to show up, she stopped calling on me and started using an entire team instead.

...

Catwoman: Were you really that great a partner though? Robin picked up the ring and did a better job than you did even though you'd had it for months, plus all the training as a holder the old Guardian gave you that Robin didn't have while he was in France.

Adrien: What training? Fu never trained me. I didn't even know he trained Ladybug. As for Robin, maybe the fact that he's been trained by Batman for years before he even came to Paris might play a factor?

You know, I had martial arts and acrobatics before I put on the ring but I'll bet training under "the dark knight" might just be a bit above that. Oh, and Ladybug actually told Robin things. I didn't even know about the Grimoire until after the last battle.

...

Selena: But what about your friends? I've done my research you know? They said you were two-faced and cowardly, you knew about Lila and did nothing. You got your friend Marinette to take the high road and do the same.

Adrien: Did nothing? As far as I knew when I gave that advice Lila was just lying for attention and the first time I tried to get her to stop she got Akumatised on the spot. Marinette was freaking out and acting crazy, the only thing she was doing was making herself look worse in front of the class and risking Lila getting Akumatised again. It was the best advice I could give her until Hawkmoth was captured, or unless someone could prove she'd done something bad enough to get her sent out of Paris.

But I did what I could.

When Lila got Marinette expelled, I was the one who stepped up and helped her. No one else. I couldn't prove anything. I'm not a Robin trained by the Greatest Detective in the world. But I knew what Lila wanted and I used myself as collateral to get her to stop.

And two-faced? That's rich from my "friends". I've had time to think and realise what they were doing all those times they left me and Marinette together. Even before they left me out to dry they treated me more like some prize for Marinette to win instead of a friend, it was all some big game to them.

Now none of them speak to me now that I'm not a rich-boy celebrity anymore. It's like they all decided that I'm responsible for their mistakes with Lila.

---

And so the conversation continues. For the first time, Adrien finally gets to tell his side of the story, even if it's to someone who came to rob him of the one thing of value he had left. And Selena... is intrigued.

She looks carefully over the boy. He's a pretty thing, but he's also clearly strong. There's still lean muscle on him despite the year trapped in this miserable little house. It suddenly strikes her ironically just how much like one of Bruce's Robin's he is- especially with his hair dyed black.

An athletic, intelligent young man made from birth to be a perfect heir to an evil father? One whose socialization had come far, far too late to be healthy? An echo of Damian.

All around her were cheap, but well-read books on an eclectic range of subjects. Tim would find plenty of common interests with this one.

The spark wasn't there now, not in this broken shell of a boy. But when Chat Noir had been in his prime even Dick would have found a cat-themed mirror for his puns and the sheer joy he took in his freedom as a superhero.

Thankfully there's precious little of Jason in him and the similarities to the rest of the bat-family faded from there. But it was undeniable how well he fit the shape of a Robin, even down to the lack of a family with Gabriel Agreste apparently having no interest in his son even before his life sentence.

But he wasn't a Robin now was he? He was a cat.

And in this place, in this dead-end of a life: he had nothing to lose.

Selena asks him for his rings.

Adrien, exhausted from his rant, simply hands them over. What would be the point in fighting?

But to his surprise: Selene doesn't leave or mock him or anything else that he expected. But rather she raises the rings to her skilled eyes to make sure she had the real things and then asks him a question;

Answer me; was anything you just said a lie?

Adrien is compelled to confirm that it was the truth.

Selena considers him once more. Considers his performance as Chat Noir again. Considers what he'd achieved without the training he should have had.

There was potential here. Potential that had been discarded and left to rot. Potential with no loyalties left to his family, friends or anything else. With a new name, a new mask: this boy could become to her what Bruce's Robins were to him.

And really, the Vanily's money couldn't really compare to what she could do with a kitten of her own. One with a bit of resentment ready to be aimed at Bruce's new foundlings that were annoying her so badly.

Selena: So Adrien, you were a bit of a rulebreaker once upon a time. Do you still have that in you?

It turns out that Adrien very much did.

Wonderful prompt! A lot of salt fic stories don't tend to focus on what would come after the story ends, it just assumes that anyone that isn't Marinette just lives miserably ever after. Having Adrien make a comeback without a even having a miraculous sounds actually dope.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Hello! What do you think about Natalie, her writing and fandom treatment? I find it fascinating that despite all the evil, she has so many fans, and even those who salt on ML and the Agrestes heavily often portray her as cool and/or sympathetic.

Prior to season five, I had mixed feelings about Nathalie. I like badass female villains, but I don't like women being idiots over men. Those were her two defining traits in season three and four, so my attitude was mostly, "can we please switch her motivation so that I can love her? I really want to love her because, if we remove the romance crap, then she reminds me of Shego and the world needs more Shegos!"

Then season five hit....

I utterly despise Nathalie's season five writing and think it makes her look weak, cruel, and ineffectual. I have no idea why so many people adore her and are excited that she's Adrien's new mom. She is not meaningfully better than Gabriel. In fact, season five Nathalie bothers me more than Gabriel. Why? Because Gabriel is the villain. He's allowed to be villainous. When Nathalie was a villain, the same rules applied. But the show claims that she's good now and yet she does nothing meaningful to stop Gabriel even though she could have.

Nathalie lives in the Agreste mansion, knows all of Gabriel's secrets, and has access to his secret lair. We also see her pin Gabriel to a table, undo his senti commands, and boss him around without any retaliation. He just rolls over and takes it. This is not the setup for a weak willed woman who sits idly by crying woe is me because she has no true power, yet that's basically what Nathalie is in season five. The first part of the final even outright confirms that Nathalie knows Gabriel's ultimate plan:

(A Tsurugi Industries pop-up appears on the screen.) Ad voice: After months of research, Tsurugi Labs have found the antidote– Nathalie: (Swipes the pop-up away.) He's going to finally do it...

So why didn't she find a way to contact the heroes and tell them what was going on? Why did she wait until she was dying to do something? Right after the above line, she grabs her crossbow and goes off to find Gabriel in a moment that made me roll my eyes. It's such blatant pathetic fan service. Only now when Nathalie is too weak to make a difference is she finally allowed to make a token effort to stop the man that she's been babying all season.

If Nathalie was allowed to be the kind of character they wrote her to be, then she would have acted much sooner and to greater effect. For example, imagine if her akumatization was just a ruse to get to the heroes. Once she loses and Gabriel can no longer see what's going on, she calls on the heroes to wait and then tells them everything, offering to help stop Gabriel. That's the kind of shit I'd expect from Nathalie's character.

Instead she just lays around in bed and occasionally pleads with Gabriel to change his mind like in this scene from Intuition:

Nathalie: Gabriel, you may only have a few weeks left like this... and I don't have much more than that. Maybe it's time to stop chasing after the Miraculous and start looking for a solution for Adrien. Make sure he's not alone once we're gone. (Hearing these words, Gabriel's eyes start to fill with sadness. Nathalie places her hands over Gabriel's.) Nathalie: Do it. For Emilie.

Nathalie, you have known this man for literal decades. Why do you expect this to work? Wake up and take charge, woman! Tell Adrien yourself! Help the heroes! Right your wrongs! You are literally dying! What do you have to lose? She honestly comes across pretty hypocritically here because, as she pointed out, they are both actively dying, which will leave Adrien alone, and yet Nathalie also does nothing to prepare Adrien for that. She just wrings her hands and hopes that Gabriel will do the right thing for both of them and I just... GAHHHHH!!!

The only semi-meaningful thing that Nathalie does in season five is undo Gabriel's commands, but that's literally just her maintaining the status quo. It's only there so that the writers don't have to deal with the senti stuff having any real consequences beyond delaying the Adrienette kiss a few episodes. Nathalie isn't trying to free Adrien or get his rings into safe hands before her death. She's just withering away and listening to Adrien talk about Marinette while knowing that he will soon lose everything. It's legitimately upsetting to me.

The anger some people feel about Marinette's actions at the end of the final is how I felt about Nathalie for all of season five and Nathalie is a freaking adult who has known everything for years. Matinette only knows the truth in a context where she can tell Adrien for about two on-screen minutes and that's assuming that Marinette figured out that Adrien is a sentimonster from context clues which she may not have! No one ever explicitly told her the truth and she had a lot of things thrown at her in rapid succession. I would not be stunned if season six reveals that she's still in the dark.

Nathalie is not sympathetic. She has had full agency and knowledge throughout the entire show. She has never been forced to do anything. She is the only peacock wielder to wield it knowing that she would die. She willingly supported Gabriel even when it put Adrien at risk. She outed Adrien's identity in Chat Blanc. She snapped away sentiBug! She's a great villain! She is a piss poor maternal figure.

The final annoying thing about her season five writing is that her "changing sides" makes no sense! She has no idea why the time travel plan failed and her own FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE is that Gabriel will put those he loves before defeating Ladybug (see: Ladybug where Gabriel chose Nathalie over winning). It is such a glaring example of bad writing that it infuriates me! This is the exchange I'm talking about:

Nathalie: (on-call) Gabriel, did it work? Gabriel: No, Ladybug tricked me! She stole the Time Miraculous from me! (Nathalie coughs from her sickness.) You have to help me! Come up with a new plan! Ladybug can’t get away with this! Nathalie: (on-call) You had the Time Miraculous. You could’ve chosen to save Emilie! You could’ve chosen to save me! (coughs) But instead, you chose your obsession with Ladybug and Cat Noir. You're insane, Gabriel!

Please remember that Nathalie has been helping him behind the scenes since the start and is fully aware that every plan he's ever made has failed even though she considered many of those dozens-if-not hundreds-of-plans brilliant.

Gabriel: If it were to fail Nathalie, I could never forgive myself. Nathalie: You made a promise to your wife. You've risked so much for the chance to bring her back. (Hands Gabriel her tablet) Lila has been harboring her rage against Ladybug for months, and today wherever she looks, she'll see the object of her hatred, and as predicted, her anger will reach devastating heights. Your plan is perfect, sir. Gabriel: And you're sure you want to do this? Nathalie: I will always be here for you. We will succeed.

Why is she suddenly so sure that this plan was different? What made her go from encouraging Gabriel to take risks to calling him insane? Why is she suddenly convinced that Gabriel can't possibly win and needs to focus on Adrien when she never said a word during the multiple akumas that directly threatened Adrien's life?

The meta reason is that the writers needed her to act as if she'd been watching the episode so that she wouldn't blindly support Gabriel anymore, allowing them to do the senti BS without it being meaningful to the story. The in show reason? I've got nothing. It is jarring to watch this while remembering that season four ended with Nathalie being given ownership of Adrien and willingly accepting that task, even going so far as to issue senti commands to "Adrien" to make him obey, which does not instill confidence in her parenting skills.

It's just so freaking infuriating. It would have been so much better if Nathalie was allowed to die and we got Emilie back. Nathalie did absolutely nothing to deserve a magical healing and I've been curious about Emilie since day one.

[broadwaycutie16]

Hey, I hope you don't mind me asking, but what is this whole Karma of Lies thing about? I often have some of your posts showing up on my dashboard about how people are not listening to you clarifying things about your story, but I avoided looking into the whole situation myself because I don't want to expose myself to so much (Adrien) salt which I know is at the initial root of all this (or at least, thats how it came across to me)

Would you explain for me what this situation is about? I'm always intrigued by this whole thing whenever I see another post from you, because of how wild reading about it all out for context is, but now curiosity finally got the best of me x3

So basically, KoL starts as your basic salt plot. Marinette’s being bullied by Lila, her friends are extorting her and accusing her of being unfair to Lila, Adrien’s just like “everything’s fine, Marinette” and telling her to just take all the crap from everyone.

Then Hawkmoth’s identity gets out, and Lila decides to cut her losses and get the hell out of there, but not without getting something out of the deal. She gets Adrien to send her money to her, and because Adrien is so trusting, he puts in the info for his family’s emergency bank account right where she can see it, not even thinking that Lila would try to screw him over. Spoiler alert: She does. She drains Adrien’s whole account of fifty million, leaving him without a cent in this catastrophic time in his life, and skips town by telling her mom a sob story. She also tricks the class into giving up their most expensive possessions, and then sells them to other people after she leaves.

So now Lila’s committed a grand felony, and she’s clear to continue her reign of terror anywhere she wants, with her newfound wealth goving her limitless potential on destroying lives. And you know what Marinette does to stop her?

NOTHING.

Marinette refuses to lift a finger to get Lila arrested. The narrative would have you believe that it’s because she’s setting boundaries and taking care of her mental health for a change, but it’s easy to figure out the REAL reason. She gives all these excuses over why she’s unable to do anything about it, using lots of loopholes, completely ignoring the fact that she’s supposed to be a superhero and thus has a moral obligation to stop Lila, if nothing else just to save all the innocent people she’ll destroy in the future.

Meanwhile, Adrien becomes penniless, his father goes on the run, and his aunt refuses to personally take him in because she’s more concerned about the scandal than about her orphaned nephew, basically resigning him to live in Marinette’s old apartment with hardly anything to call his own while Marinette moves into his old room at the mansion after getting a job with Audrey Bourgeois, who has now taken control of Gabriel’s company. And all through this, Marinette and the narrative are basically saying, “you didn’t help me when I needed you to stick for me, so now I’m not gonna help you when you need it”, basically ignoring the fact that what’s happening to Adrien is a hundred times worse than what happened to her.

Even worse, Marinette trashes all her friends’ reputations on live TV, calling them out for mistreating her without stating the reason why they mistreated her, so the public doesn’t know the full story. And Adrien, desperate to get his life back, makes a stupid and arrogant mistake and tries to take down Mayura by himself, but is easily fooled by her to give her opportunity to steak his ring. The villains are defeated, but now everyone in Paris thinks Adrien gave Nathalie the ring on purpose, and accuse him of being a willing accomplice to his father, effectively crushing any little particles of hope he had left for his future.

But what truly makes this fic a dumpster fire of a story, is how the author directs the whole narrative to try and make you believe that everything that happened to Adrien was 100% justfied, that not supporting Marinette and letting some girl bully her and turn her friends against her, a problem that was temporary at worst and that basically was nothing more than some schoolgirl drama, means that he, a fourteen year old boy from an abusive household, deserves to be virtually homeless, bankrupt, disowned by his entire family, and falsely accused if terrorism, and doomed to living the rest of his life out on the streets, without even the slightest conception that maybe it was a little too much.

Oh, and the only punishment Lila gets is some vague warning from Marinette about her future, and apparently, that’s supposed to be enough to stop the girl who knowingly teamed up with a terrorist and was willing to doom the city just to get back at one person for one embarrassing incident in front of one person.

Basically, The Karma of Lies is the worst salt fic of all the salt fics, punishing Adrien for childish stupidity with permanent life damage beyond anything written in salts before, and trying to send the message that it’s okay for Marinette to let it all happen just to get back at him for not being a better friend.

Trust me, do not read it. It is a garbage fire. I regret reading it every day. It’s really messed with my head. Even now, I’d wholly welcome an infinite number of sequel fics punishing Marinette and her ���friends” (read: evil minions) for what they did, because if the story says that Adrien deserves his fate for doing nothing, they deserve even worse. This fic is the epitome of everything wrong with the Miraculous Ladybug fandom.

[jasmine-the-fox]

I'm better in Japan then in Paris

Picapollo made this really good request over on ao3 and I can't wait for you guys to read this amazing story i have made for you guys.

Anyways! Please enjoy!

Marinette smiled as she floated on the floaty bed in her pool. She was relaxing in the sun as she faintly hears her husband cooking on the barbecue as they wait for there guests to arrive "Mari! You sure you don't want something to drink?" her husband asked making her turn to look at him "I'm sure Izu! Why don't you instead come join me? The others aren't going to be here for a while and it seems like a waste to cook right now" Mari said making her husband Izuku Midoriya also known as pro hero Deku to smile towards her and enter the pool after closing the barbecue.

"I was just working on a few things that need to cook for a while so were fine" he said as he swam to her side, Mari had met Izuku two years before graduation. Kagami had brought her to Japan, she was so happy and excited when a villain attacked but Deku came to save her... that was how there relationship began making them very happy together. Because of Mari's life in Paris, she decided to keep her relationship a secret which Kagami was alright in doing since she knew they were dating.

As a result... no one in her class knew she was dating Izuku at all... which was a good thing because had lied about getting cheated on by someone and within the hour of saying that the class attacked the guy online for cheating on Lila. As a result, it was for the best to not let them know and instead let them believe she was single and in love with Adrien... especially after they stopped being her friends after Lila lied about Mari sending her death threats... so it was better than Izuku getting contacted about the lies so they break-up.

Izuku did know about Lila and her lies of course but she just wanted him safe until she can live in Japan with him which her parents were alright with only after she graduates... and now here she was two years after graduating and she was married to her husband for a year now. Her parents were able to open a bakery in Japan that had become very popular and Mari opened three stores so far... and let's not forget there sweet two year old son Kazuki that they named after his godfather Katsuki Bakugo who is also Izuku's childhood best friend.

Currently... the BBQ was to have a little party to celebrate Kazuki's second birthday... and also for Mari to surprise everyone with the fact that she's pregnant again... not even Izuku knew as she wanted to surprise him. A while later little Kazuki began to wake up from his nap "Where's the little birthday boy!? I need to see him now!" shouted Katsuki making Kazuki squeal of joy as Katsuki came over with a gift bag and then picked him up to hug him "Hey Kacchan! glad you could make it" Izuku said while Mari giggled.

"How was that mission over in America?" she asked as Katsuki entered the pool with Kazuki in his arms "It was tough since two pro hero's bailed a day after we started" he explained making Mari huff in anger while Izuku sighed "My hero suit also got trashed so i'll need a new one from you Bug" he added making her smirk and nod as Tikki giggled. Before Mari left for Japan... she had located Hawkmoth and Mayura, she threatened Gabriel and Nathalie with going to the police if they didn't hand everything relating to the miraculous over... while promising to help bring back Gabriel's wife.

After getting everything, she went and took Adrien's ring and then left without leaving a trace of her. She did this so to keep the miraculous safe from Adrien... but Gabriel swore that he, Nathalie and Emily would keep Adrien under control and not try to find her to take back the ring from her. Now here she was, safe and happy with her life... and she didn't care about anything that was happening over in Paris at all "Did anyone message about being on there way here?" Mari then asked making Izuku smiled.

"They should be here soon. Ochako said she and Tenya were just buying some sweets and some wine to enjoy after Kazuki goes to bed later today but the others were on there way" Izuku said making her smile and nod to his words as sure enough there friends were slowly coming to join them by the pool... including Inko and Mari's parents making her smile and greet them with a bright smile. Kagami walked into the yard a little while later with her husband Felix... Adrien's cousin but Mari was very happy to see the two of them so they could celebrate Kazuki's birthday... and her little surprise.

Meanwhile... back in Paris...

Adrien has been upset for the last two years... as it had been two years ago when his miraculous was taken from him by Ladybug. He couldn't believe she would take the ring and still not reveal who she was behind the mask! He just didn't find it fair... not only that but after graduation... Mari had left Paris. Her parents refused to tell them where she went other then she left to be happy and wouldn't be coming back... after that her parents began to leave Paris from time to time leaving the bakery to a few employes they hired, he asked why and they simply said that they opened a new bakery somewhere and would go to check on it.

He tried contacting Mari like the others did... but she had them blocked so they couldn't call or text her for anything that they needed or wanted to know about her. Right now the class was meeting up at the park for old time sakes and to catch up, when he arrived at the park he discovered that everyone was already there but Lila, Chloe and Sabrina... and they looked upset for some reason. He went to join them and quickly found Nino to talk "Hey man. Why is everyone looking upset?" he asked making Nino sigh "Look around... who isn't here?" he asked making Adrien look confuse before looking around and then it clicked.

"Marinette... she isn't here" he whispered making Nino nod "I found out with Alya from Chloe that she was in Japan now... married and had a son... today is his second birthday" Nino explained making Adrien look down "So she... moved on from us? She really isn't coming back?" Adrien asked making Nino sigh "Seems like it... turns out Chloe got invited to the party so she, her sister Zoe and Sabrina aren't here because of it" he explained making him nod in understanding. He had tried asking Kagami to hang-out with him but she refused saying she with Felix were going to Japan for a while.

He was now certain she had also been invited to the party... finally Lila arrived with a big bright smile. At that moment Adrien got a notification from Chloe's social media accounts with a post she made... it was of Marinette with her husband hero Deku celebrating not only there son's birthday... but the fact they were going to have another baby. Everyone had checked but Lila as she was focused on talking about herself... and then it happened... something that Adrien was certain Mari had always wanted to see happen with her very own eyes.

Lila's downfall... has arrived... because of her latest lie...

"I just wish you guys could meet my husband! But being the pro hero Deku he's really busy saving lives right now!" she said making there eyes widen... and then Juleka slapped her "You bitch! Your really are a LIAR!" she screamed... at that moment... everyone else began to scream at Lila. Adrien kept quiet as Alya revealed Chloe's post about Marinette being married to hero Deku making Lila freak out and try to lie her way out of it... claiming that the guy she married didn't look like him and she must have been tricked... but it didn't work... and then... her eyes landed on Adrien... and she smirked.

He went pale at her expression... and he couldn't stop her in time...

"Fine then! But this time i'm telling you the truth when I say that Maribrat wasn't the only one who knew i'm a liar! That's right Adrien also knew from the very start and he didn't try to stop me from lying or stop you from hurting your 'Everyday Ladybug' at all!" she said before running away as they went silent... and then turned to him "You knew?" Nino asked in horror. Adrien tried to speak but nothing came out and this time Kim spoke "YOU FUCKING KNEW SHE WAS LYING TO US... AND DIDN'T TRY TO WARN US!?" he shouted making him flinch.

The group ganged up on him and pointed out how he could have told them at any point in time and they would have listened to him... but he didn't and now they lost Mari possibly for good and there was no way of them fixing anything with her now. He tried to claim it wasn't true, that they could ask his friend Kagami or Juleka's brother Luka to talk to her but they weren't listening to him at all and continued to scream at him at how he caused all of this to continue for years and hadn't tried to fix things even after they had all graduated.

And now... it was all far too late... Lila had left to go who knows where to lie to people once more... Mari was married and has a family and here they were in Paris... suffering because they lost an amazing friend forever...

And while they believed it was all Adrien's fault... they all knew that deep down... it was there own fault for not looking into Lila's lies from the start...

[ninadove]

Hello, all respectfully, may I ask, why do you want emilie to be dead? I mean adrien deserves to have his mom back, don’t you think? You can answer it thru private chat if it makes you more comfortable.

No that’s perfectly fine! I love getting a chance to overanalyse and write down my own thoughts! 📝

So, I have a complicated relationship with Emilie as a character, but I don’t hate her by any means. I do believe she is a lot less pure and innocent than we were first led to believe, but that makes her much more compelling, so as far as I’m concerned it’s a great writing choice.

The reason I think she should be dead, or more accurately, stay dead (the nuance is crucial), is simply storytelling.

As fun as the show is, it is also pretty serious when it wants to be, and these 5 seasons were written with a couple of core messages in mind:

Part of the experience of being human is to accept that there is no magical solution to our problems. Sometimes things don’t work out, sometimes we lose the people we care about; and actions bring consequences, always. This is why using the Peacock carries such a heavy toll, even after it is fixed, and why the Lucky Charm primarily relies on Marinette’s intelligence and creativity (characteristically human qualities) rather than being an automatic problem solver.

Whenever these losses occur — you have to move on. Staying stuck in the past means depriving yourself of a chance to enjoy the present and plan for the future. All of the events of these 5 seasons were triggered by Gabriel’s inability to accept the concept of death, and by his attempts to drag all of Paris down the pits of grief (symbolised by the akuma attacks) with him — starting with his own son.

Of course, Adrien deserves to be happy and loved! And Emilie herself explains how it can happen:

By letting her go.

Adrien is an extremely strong and loving kid who, unlike his father, is able to shoulder the pain while still opening himself up to the world. Gabriel trying to bring Emilie back did nothing to fix the sorrow his son had to deal with; in fact, it cost him his other parent and a normal childhood in the process.

But the thing is — Adrien does not need Emilie anymore.

He has a girlfriend who loves him so much she gave his dad one last chance to make the right choice, despite all the pain he caused (and will likely continue to cause from the grave). He has a cousin who loves him so much he was willing to burn the world down, then help fix it to protect him. He has amazing friends who supported him through this entire ordeal (special shout-out to Nino, who has been on Gabriel’s case since S1 E9), even when he did not feel comfortable enough to share the full extent of the abuse he was going through. He has Amelie and Nathalie, who will provide him with the motherly love he needs in his life, and Tom and Sabine, who are already packing him his breakfast every morning because they’ve carved him a place in their family and hearts. Also, he has a cheese-eating demon who lives in his pocket.

No one is entitled to raising the dead, and Adrien would never even consider it. But he does deserve love and care and happiness, things his father deprived him of in his senseless quest to defy the laws of nature — things he was able to build for himself because he chose to be kind and vulnerable despite his grief.

Season 6 will be terrible on him, but he will come back stronger on the other side. And in doing so, he will send an important message to the core audience of the show: young children who will sooner or later have to mourn a loved one themselves, but will know they can be OK thanks to his example.

And you know, sometimes us adults need a little reminder too. 💚

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML What if:

(What if Movie! Gabriel was the villain in the Show?)

Now to those that have seen the movie and the show.

All the powers and rules of the show apply. The only difference is Gabriel’s Personality is the same as the one in the movie.

(How much will be different)

____________________________________________

-So for starters, I don’t think this version of Adrien would not need to sneak out to try and go to school. Since this Gabriel never became a hermit. He actually threw himself into his work instead of isolating himself. And as such Adrien would not have the hang up of being trapped in his home. Or if he does it’s more from empathy than actual restraint.

-But even so, Adrien is still a good boy and still ends up tested by Fu and gets approved.

-I think Adrien models but isn’t the only model. I can see Adrien being the one to ask as a way of spending time with his father since his mother passed, and Gabriel not refusing. At least in photos he could see the boy smile.

-Everything with Marinette in origins is identical.

-Gabriel finally caves into his loneliness and desperation and uses the butterfly. Where he learns the rules and how they work. Since this Gabriel had seen the peacock in action he was worried that using the butterfly would yield the same result, but Nooroo assured him that it’s only with broken miraculous.

-Now, Gabriel would still akumatize stoneheart and start the incident that would bring out the ladybug and cat miraculous.

-Gabriel is still lost in grief and even though he mainly used criminals in the film, he would probably use people anyway (see the movie!stoneheart)

-This Gabriel would probably still pull a lot of the stunts show Gabriel would pull. Theatrics included.

-So I do think show Origins would be relatively the same.

-Honestly most of season 1 would be the same. I can see Gabriel setting up his fashion designer contest in Mr.Pigeon.

- Movie!Gabriel would remember his sons birthday and have Nathalie get him a gift while he’s focused on work.

-Nino never meets Gabriel face to face as he is far too busy to meet him. Thus bubbler.

-Gabriel never shows up on the show to get Simon says akumatized, but likely sent a response insulting enough it akumatized him.

- Gabriel would send a text or call to have Adrien leave an area that he knew an akuma was in. Something he did in the movie.

-I would say close to season 2 we start seeing Gabriel look disheveled. I also see Movie! Gabriel not akumatizing a baby. Mainly because it would not help his situation.

-Gabriel wouldn’t Akumatize Kagami since she was after Adrien, which would be a no no.

-Gorizilla wouldn’t happen because This Gabriel would never put his son in harms way intentionally. Plus I would say this Gabriel wouldn’t have noticed the ring on his sons finger as he is avoiding his boy more out of his own emotional survivors guilt.

-Gabriel would akumatize Style queen, but he would be there in person initially. He would be the one that got turned into a glitter statue protecting his son.

-After this. Gabriel questioned if this was the right call? He put his son in danger? Was it right?!

-And I think unlike Show Gabriel, Heroes day would be his last Hurrah, but he would be much more brutal. And that result.

[miraculousfanworks]

Fanfiction Prompt

Chloe finds out Adrien is Chat Noir. After a fierce internal battle between her desire for attention, her resentment towards Ladybug, and her desire to protect Adrien, Adrien wins out. Chloe decides to help him, and Ladybug indirectly, in the only way she can. By abusing her father to manipulate public policy. Because, clearly, Adrien is doing TOO MUCH. And she CAN'T get him to stop being Chat Noir. So she needs to free him from his other commitments. Which means freeing him from his father, and Nathalie. So, clearly, Adrien needs money, money his father can't touch or control. Money he can use to live. There's a lot of hemming and hawing and "but but but Chloe..." but, in the end, she gets her way. It was simply a matter of pointing out, FIRMLY, exactly how much money Ladybug and Chat Noir saved the city. Not JUST in repairing the post battle damage. But in the cost of outfitting an actual effective Anti-Supervillain taskforce. CLEARLY the cost of such an undertaking would EASILY outstrip the city Police budget, probably by more than double. Then add all the public good works NOT related to fighting Akuma, the potential liability lawsuits, the cost of counselling people would need... The next day, at the end of school, she quietly passes Adrien two large manilla envelopes. One addressed to him, one simply to LB. Inside his were a debit card drawn on the central bank, a large number of documents establishing Chat Noir as a legal entity, a bank account statement that startled even him, a contract guaranteeing a monthly stipend that almost staggered him, and a brief explaining how he could (both in a legal sense and a practical one) purchase and own real property in his own name as Chat Noir. Also documents establishing that, as far as Paris was concerned, he was a legal adult. He didn't open Ladybug's, but he looked forward to seeing her reaction...

Prompt by Tiwaz

[ljjsims]

Greek Goddess legacy Challenge: Generation #11 Artemis: Completed

Protectress of girls, goddess of the hunt and the moon and so much more, here is Artemis!

You grew up in a loving family, a total mama’s girl. You work hard to win and be the best, win medals. But, as you grow, you find that medals just don’t do it for you. You feel way more fulfilled when you help people around you. When you care for helpless creatures. There are people and animals out there who can’t fend for themselves. And you can. You can save them. Anger boils in you when you see all those sims mistreated and hurt. So you promise yourself you will cure the world, sim by sim.

Little bit explanation with the sheets: - First sheet is for describing your current generation, with the challenges you need to do each life-stage. Also, because I love the myths, a bit of mythological background. May it inspire you :) - Second sheet is the preparation sheet for this generation, with important characters for your story. It is technically optional, but I love seeing sims with a backstory in my world, so I would highly recommend it. - Third sheet is for your gens children. They all have their own little challenges if your interested in those. I try to make all of them a bit different from each other, so it doesn’t get boring. Your heir is also on this sheet, but I’ve put their challenges on their own sheets. Stay tuned for those ;) - Fourth sheet is completely optional. If you want sims with names from the myths and love making sims to see them in your world, this is for you! All with a little mythological background ofc, you know me.

Next Generation is Iris! Previous Generation was Nike First Generation is Gaia

The Greek Goddesses Challenge by LJJ-Sims is a challenge based on the ancient mythical creatures and stories from Greece. I fell in love with Greek mythology in high school and have not let that love go since. In this challenge you will follow 10 deities in their journey through life. Every goddess has a different take on and goal in life. Special about this challenge?  All your kids have little challenges of their own, not only your heir. These challenges are optional, so if you feel like these are too much or just too restricting for you: by all means let them go. I also have sheets for characters that you can make before you start each generation. This gives your challenge a lot more personality and makes it frankly easier and more fun!

A little disclaimer: because I made these gods and goddesses into a legacy challenge, the relationships in the myths don’t exactly match the relationship in this challenge. There is a lot of keep it in the family in mythology, to put it lightly. And apart from the fact that you can’t do that in the Sims, I don’t really like that part. So I didn’t include it, thus the inconsistency. An example: Ares is now Hera’s stepfather instead of her son, which she conceived with her brother  and husband Zeus. This inconsistency can also be found in the stories. It’s just based on and not copied exactly, as Sims live lives that are a lot shorter than those of immortal gods. And it takes a way from the creativity if we just copy the myths. Even if we wanted to do that, it’s quite hard, as every myths has its fair share of variations and some are just completely different stories.

I use the MCCC-mod to alter the length of life states. You can find the days-years ratio here: the boring stuff.

I get all the information from several sites about mythology, but mostly use https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/goddesses. This is a great place to start if you want to know the myths surrounding a certain god or goddess. Wikipedia is also a friend of mine in this challenge, although I automatically doubt a lot of information that is on there. More of a book person? I absolutely adore Stephen Fry’s Mythos, which is very beginner friendly, and Nathalie Haynes Pandora’s jar. For little synopses of gods, I would recommend Greek Mythology: The Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes Handbook by Liv Albert.

[imthepunchlord]

I feel that "Campy Villain Gabriel (CampMoth? 😉)" should be defeated in S2, then S3 would have more serious plot with Marinette being effectively "caught in pincers" between Lila "attacking" her civilian life and Mayura creating Sentimonsters to get Ladybug (and Black Cat) Miraculous.

I mean, it was set up towards before s2 that something along those lines was how it was going to be.

When Mayura was revealed, she was so to be "worse" than Hawk Moth and would "make him look like a baby". And there was also a claim that she was Hawk Moth's boss. And there was a detail in Origins that HM was double checking with Nooroo on how the Butterfly worked, as if he was fed info and needed to confirm that info.

And it could be that Mayura originally was the one who gave Butterfly to Gabriel, which would've set her up as a counter to Fu in handing out Miraculous and semi having a "Guardian" role. And by extension, was going to set her up to be more tied to Marinette, as Marinette is the one who meets Fu, and is the one that was going to carry on as Guardian.

Which prompted a thought of maybe dark mentor Mayura, trying to pull Marinette to the dark side.

And man, I remember all the theories on who was going to be Mayura, post pre s2 and during s2 as she didn't appear yet.

But it was thought maybe she was Adrien's mom back from the dead and be a trope of the wife being worse than the husband.

That maybe she's related to Marinette and is her cousin or aunt on the Cheng side as she had an oriental look.

That maybe Kagami's mom was Mayura (which could've been interesting given that peafowl are tied to vision but she's a blind character), which out of them, potentially could've made the most sense given the apparent relations that the Tsuragis and Agrestes have.

And I think there were some that guessed Nathalie and they turned out right.

Anyway.

Yeah, Hawk Moth wasn't meant to be our big serious villain. He was the starting villain, someone they can be campy with, and be a decent threat, but not enough to take seriously. Things were supposed to get more serious with Mayura. But I guess that idea changed up the status quo too much so we got Nathalie in love with Gabriel and eagerly working under him even at the risk of her own health.

Man that status quo sure was worth keeping, huh?

As for Lila, she was also built up to be more prominent in s2. It was said that Volpina was implied to return and that we'd see a Fox pretty often in s2.

And then we had Alya confirmed for the Fox (and Chloe for the Bee; I also remember the lack of Chat Noir in the two new heroes reveal with LB had people wondering if something happened with Adrien or if he turned to the dark side), which helped plant this idea of Alya v Lila and Fox v Fox, and a claim that Alya, Chloe, and Marinette were all going to team up to face off against Lila.

And uh, yeah, none of this every came true.

Maybe it was planned to be but it just changed up their formula too much. It's a bit hard to say.

Either way, what we got was not good.

[zoe-oneesama]

Congrats on finishing the penultimate final episode of SL’s Season 5!!! And now for the season finale: What do you think of Audrey, her akuma, and Style Queen’s plot once you rewatch the episode?

The episode is...fine? On it's own? Like, I kinda just like it.

Well, as a character intro, it's pretty perfect. You know everything about Audrey in so little time:

Style Queen Magazine Fashion Critic

Harshest Fashion Critic in the World

Fires People at the Drop of the Hat, even the ones who don't work for her

Chloe mimics all her mannerisms and phrases -> Chloe sees Audrey as a role model to emulate -> Audrey is adult Chloe

Audrey sees no value in remaining in Paris despite her whole ass family living there -> Audrey doesn't give a single fuck about her family

Reinforced by her getting her husband and own daughter's names incorrect several times (she calls her CASSEROLE at one point!) though at least she has the good grace to look embarrassed for a second when she does and at least she corrects herself with the correct name.

She sure does get Gabriel's name right though, suggesting she holds him in better (or at least higher) regard than her own family. Maybe this is where Chloe got her Bourgeois Family Rule No. 148: You Need a Guy Best Friend to "Wrap Around Your Finger". This also suggests that her career ties are more important to her than her family ties.

Also it's interesting that she remembers Marinette's name when it comes up again...

In the two minutes they have Audrey talking in the opening, you know everything about her, and all signs point to her being a total asshole. And we all thought it was just Andre spoiling Chloe rotten that made her that way...

So I guess I'll just go chronologically for the set up to the akuma:

Liked: Marinette's imposter syndrome was depicted very well and is in line with her character. This was a pretty good use of Marinette's anxiety for the sake of exposition - her being tightly wound and going over her hat again and again so many times it makes her late, late enough to catch Audrey arriving so she can panic over that, and her getting to hear Audrey's interview with Nadja and panicking over that. All this set up helps the audience realize there's actually a stake here, since theoretically Audrey's opinion could make or break Marinette's dreams of being a designer.

Liked: Chloe trying to insult Marinette but ends up just doing a speed-run intro, pointing her out as a designer to Audrey and even showing off the detailing of her stitched signature. Maybe if Chloe hadn't gone out of her way to point these things out, Audrey wouldn't have taken an interest in Marinette in the first place, lol. Though obviously you'd only know that if you also watch "Queen Wasp".

Liked: This teeny tiny hint that Adrien isn't that into modeling, or at least not into modeling his dad's clothes, since he bemoans that he feels awkward. I liked that Adrien saw right through Marinette's imposter syndrome moment and actually cheered her up, and I like that Marinette complimenting his strut got him out of his funk in return without her even realizing it.

Liked: Oh c'mon we all liked it when Nathalie put Audrey in her place. It would be the dead pan snarky one that reminds Audrey that she doesn't work for her. The fact that Nathalie even smiles at Marinette when she presents the now vacant seat just sealed in that, on top of it being deliberate for Gabriel's plan, Nathalie enjoyed it. And so did I, Nathalie.

God, please don't look directly at me.

I'll stop going chronologically here. The akuma is pretty good, though just like Audrey herself, better at a distance (her faaaaace, what is happening?!) and idk the back of her head is crazy. I think they were going for a Statue of Liberty Crown shape with her hair, but the back is just...cut off and flat.

At least now I know where she kept the rose...?

As far as the fight goes, it's just Ladybug getting her ass beat even AFTER figuring out a way to slow Style Queen down with just her Lucky Charm, so I guess this IS Hawkmoth's "masterpiece". Though that does make her being so easily beaten in "Optygami" kinda weak. I guess all Ladybug really needed was help.

And obviously we were all robbed of Bee!Alya.

And obviously Plagg was MVP.

Chloe was also pretty good in this episode (in the way I think she's good, as a complete brat). She would bluff her way into signing up to be her mom's assistant, and while it was momentarily sweet of her to be worried about Adrien, you can still tell she's her asshole self when she starts down the stairs with her mom and talking about how AWESOME THEIR TEAM-UP WAS.

I know she was just leading up to suggesting she go to New York to be with her mother, but going on about how GREAT it was to "fire incompetents" together kinda puts into question just how much you were bluffing there, Chlo.

And of course Audrey calls the idea of Chloe going to New York with her ridiculous, but follows it up with "first I need to get back to Gabriel's fashion show", so there's a few ways to interpret that.

Is the idea of taking Chloe with her at all ridiculous?

Or Is it ridiculous to take Chloe to New York right now because the Fashion Show is still on? As in, that's not the order of things, or it's ridiculous because Audrey's not even going back to New York right away?

If it were any other character, I'd say she obviously meant the idea of Chloe going with her at all, but it's Audrey. Petty, career focused, only looking two steps ahead Audrey.

Then again, I'm probably just trying to make this more difficult and deeper than it is. It's probably just the former, she rejected Chloe flat out, especially when we know what's coming in "Queen Wasp". Idk who I'm defending here, it's a lost cause.

I guess what I'm getting at is that Audrey is fascinating as a character study in all these little ways that I'm not fully sure the show intended. Like her looking guilty when she screws up Chloe's name, even as an akuma. Or instead of listing the reasons why Chloe going to New York is ridiculous by tearing Chloe down, she instead is pointing out that they have somewhere else to be first. Where she comes across as not so much trying to be intentionally malicious but instead thoughtlessly cruel.

Don't get it twisted, though, she's still an asshole.

[rachelsshowerthoughts]

I had the most hilarious Aware AU thoughts:

OK, so everything leading up to Origins is the same as discussed.

When Adrien stops to help Fu he's almost caught but Chloe was waiting outside & jumped in when Nathalie showed up and made a sufficient enough spectacle that Sabrina could grab Adrien and they bolt into the school.

Argument over seats ensues, Adrien & Nino making tentative friends.

Kagami is probably around but maybe not in this class. Gabriel is irritated but also figures that an Akuma attack is a good reason to force Adrien out of going to school & keeps Nathalie waiting. So he can't even head out to the arcade across the street.

This is all a big red flag to Nino when he hears & sees that yes, Adrien's bodyguard & his fathers assistant have basically parked outside the school to obsessively watch them all day.

Stuff happens, Ivan becomes an Akuma & in the chaos Adrien, Chloe & maybe Sabrina, grudgingly agree to go to the Agreste Mansion cos it is at least very heavily fortified. Minor argument with Nathalie but time is dead bodies with a giant rock monster around.

Anyway this means Adrien has company when he finds Plagg.

Fortunately the Kwami of Destruction is all in favor of teenage rebellion "Fuck yeah, stick it to the old people!" & has no issue ignoring that Chloe knows Adrien's identity, though they do work to cover it up a little bit when needed.

But, but, but, here's the fun part.

Chloe also becomes Chat Noir.

Not all the time but when its impractical for Adrien to do it she dons the ring. Both already having many aesthetic commonalities and a familiarity with each others personalities, the way the Glamour works & mild physical form changes when transforming and... No one notices, not even Fu!

Also both flirt with Ladybug, a lot.

This also helps keep a bit of a divide going once Fu is discovered, because Adrien shares details on the book with at least her, or potentially the entire "Shitty parents club". & this leads to knowing about Fu earlier and a more contentious relationship.

IE, he wants to take Plagg back, Plagg does not want to go back, they do not want Plagg to go back & they have enough information to make Fu's entire operation very fucking difficult.

Also the book may be found or stolen earlier.

Like Bubbler is a great time/excuse to trash the mansion for funsies ya know?

Obviously Marinette is not a fan of this whole... Everything, even if she doesn't get all the details or learn IDs, she respects authority figures and seniors, & though she might not want to lose Chat she doesn't think turning it into a contest of wills is the "Right" way to fix things.

Also I think Kagami might be Marinette's first pick for an extra ally which might happen sooner as Fu would want someone else more in line with his thinking on side.

This isn't a dig at Alya, but in Aware Marinette as technically known Kagami longer. Sees her as very respectful & dutiful, and has 100% seen her bravely try to throw down with Akuma to keep people safe.

Meanwhile the bee, or perhaps snake or tiger can still end up lost XD

Chat: Me, knowing the location of the Miraculous no one told me was missing? Its less likely than you think! Also Chat: Hey, new hero, we should definitely 100% accept this person & not question their identity!

One big difference between Fu & the other shitty adults, is that he's much more like Roger. IE, he is trying to do the right thing, genuinely does not want to bring anyone pain. He is just intensely paranoid & overly cautious tot he point where it can become harmful.

So, first of all, this is hilarious to me. Yes, absolutely, all of this.

second, I see your "Kagami is chosen by Marinette first", and raise you "As a body double". Like, I think part of why Alya gets picked to be the Fox was proximity - the Akuma was her little sisters, it was the middle of the night, she's already aware of the situation, Marinette trusts her and needs a teammate, boom, Alya gets to be the Fox. However, for Kagami, you're right, she does know her longer here, so probably trusts her more. So, I suggest learning about the "Cat Siblings" (this is Marinette's best guess, if she doesn’t have their identities, that the Chat Noir duo are siblings) gives Marinette ideas. Like, yes, Fu is clearly against it, but part of Marinette probably thinks "dammit, that’s such a good system, though!". How many times has she been screwed over because she had to be Ladybug, and completely fucked up her schedule? There being TWO people to be Cat Noir, while not ideal, is still better for Cat Noir in general. Not that Marinette would EVER do something like that, once the Guardian makes his stance clear! Oh no, absolutely not!

Which, uh, doesn’t mean she hasn’t THOUGHT about someone else to let borrow the earrings in an emergency, OR that she hasn’t thought about Kagami specifically, OR that she hasn’t quietly discussed it with Tikki (in hypotheticals) what to do if she's taken out! So (my best guess for what happens) when Marinette comes down with a particularly nasty flu, and can't even stand up without feeling dizzy, she actually doesn’t think that long before calling up Kagami, like, "uh, hey, weird question, do you think you could take over being Ladybug for me? I can taste colours, and not in the fun way."

Of course, Kagami does it, and because she's VERY different from Marinette (personality-wise) while the public is fooled thanks to the Glamour, Cat Noir is "uh, excuse me? Who are you???", and Kagami has to awkwardly explain that your regularly scheduled Ladybug currently has a fever of one hundred and four, and can't really leave the bathroom right now, so she's filling in. After it’s all over, she quickly leaves to give Marinette the earrings back (maybe drop off some medicine?), and Cat Noir(e) is left feeling, like, "ha, maybe the old man will get off our backs now, Ladybug clearly agrees with us!"

Which. Uh. Yeah, no, that doesn’t really happen. Maybe Ladybug's just better at explaining it, (or Fu is just a little prejudiced against the Cat in particular, I imagine the Order weren’t Plagg’s biggest fans, Fu probably internalized a lot of their shit), but he's . . . not OKAY with Ladybug sharing her ID and position with another person, but much more understanding. If Marinette was really that sick, then going out as Ladybug would have been seriously detrimental to both her and the fight against Hawk Moth. And there NEEDS to be a Ladybug in every fight, to purify the Akuma. Yes, Fu would rather she hadn’t done it, but it was clearly the right decision at the time, so Fu will trust Marinette on this. He still doesn’t recommend doing it too often, but a back up Ladybug is clearly a good idea.

Well, this means that Back Up Cat is good too, right? Nope! Still salty about them, still thinks one of them should knock it off, still thinks he should take the Miraculous back!

Yeah, you can imagine how this is going down with the Cat Noir(e) Duo. ESPECIALLY because this is the Aware Kids. It’s every instance of favouritism, of "unexceptional", of "not good enough". Congrats Fu, you just got knocked into "Adults we DO NOT trust"! You already had a foothold, now you get a proper seat!

On the flip side, I see this as where Marinette starts questioning Fu a little more. Because for all her black and white mentality, all her naïveté, the double-standard is GLARING. She's spent the past few months watching the battle of Wills that is Cat Noir(e) Vs Fu. She was expecting a HELL of a talking to once she wasn't throwing up her stomach. Instead, she gets mild disappointment at the SITUATION, general understanding, and even gets COMMENDED for her reasoning and quick reaction to the situation. Which makes her go "waitwait,wait, wait, hold the FUCK up", because what? What the HELL? Why is it ok if SHE does the thing that Fu's been railing against, but not Cat Noir(e)? Good grief, shouldn’t it have been a worse decision? The Cat Noir(e) Duo at least started at roughly the same time. They've been training and getting better alongside her. Now that Marinette's no longer fever-fogged, she's thinking it honestly would have made more sense to have Tikki take the earrings, and go find one of the duo to be a replacement Ladybug. They would have at least had some idea what they were doing! But no, instead she sent a friend, who had barely any idea, to do the job. And that's . . . . fine? What? And DON'T say it’s cause Ladybug needs to be there to purify the Akuma, Marinette knows she NEEDS back up! If anything, the Cat Noir(e) Duo was always kind of a comfort to her, cause she knew she was always likely to have SOMEONE there to support her. Fu so clearly showing favouritism is a hit to Marinette's view of all authority figures being kind and reasonable, making her start questioning him a bit more. Which, ya know, is probably needed.

On Fu himself, yes, he is very much like Roger. I'm not sure on how the particulars work out, since we have no idea what Roger's home life was like as a kid, but I've been operating under the adage "nothing exists in a vacuum". Roger didn’t spring forth fully formed with his opinions on "serving the public (toxic)", he had to learn that somewhere. Someone taught him those views, which he's passing onto Sabrina. And we SEE, at least partially, Fu getting taught his paranoia - if not from the Order itself, from the incident that took the Order away, which Fu probably feels a lot of guilt for. Which, as far as I can tell, he's managing by doubling down on the few teachings he had. Don’t give out IDs. Always put the Miraculous back in the box, don’t let them out. Don’t let the Kwami know any secrets.

Unfortunately, much like Roger, I feel like Fu also needs to see his stubbornness blow up in his face before he realizes he's fucking up.

[lukaslosteyelashes]

I really wanted to post this before the London Special, also I’m sorry in advance if anything is incoherent or not grammarly correct. I had a bit of a trouble collecting my thoughts and write this but I tried my best.

Anyways, let’s go!

*Edit: I was wrong lol

Tomoe Tsurugi was the main reason why people now view Gabriel Agreste as a hero of Paris

At first I haven’t thought much about the season 5 finale, overall I liked it, but then it started to bug me: why was it necessary to make Gabriel Agreste the hero of Paris, how did it happen and whose idea was it, who would benefit from it?

Ladybug/Marinette

She probably had to make a public announcement to the media at some point that Monarch was defeated, that’s a topic that cannot be avoided after all, and there is also the fact that Gabriel Agreste died at the end of that fight.

Gabriel is a famous fashion designer, a public figure who, even though spent the last bit of his life basically isolated, is known far and wide. His death would be something that shakes the rich and the poor alike. So what would happen if Marinette would reveal that their adored fashion designer was also the villain that kept the entire population of Paris in terror? Nothing good and his son, Adrien would suffer the most because of it.

If we’re at Adrien. There is also Gabriel’s final wish, which was to keep this a secret from his son, so Adrien could only remember the times when he was trying to be a good father to him [which happened like once or twice during the 5 seasons].

Would Ladybug call Gabriel a hero to the press?

I don’t think so, maybe not intentionally, the press could put a lot of pressure on people. I can imagine that Ladybug being confused of what happened and also distressed that she couldn’t find the butterfly miraculous, so she might said something that she didn’t meant or the press made her say things.

Marinette probably fulfilled Gabriel’s final wish because she wants Adrien to be happy and free and spilling the beans about everything would achieve the opposite. With Gabriel’s death there’s no Monarch anymore either, that’s what matters no one really needs to know that the two were the same (not even his son). It’s an end of an era and the beginning of a (not so promising) new one.

Side note: Do you remember that in "Conformation" Ladybug sent a message to Chat Noir that Gabriel Agreste is Monarch? Adrien still can learn about the truth from her IF the message came through.

Nathalie

She was Gabriel’s accomplice from the start who would have helped him as Mayura until the end if he didn’t went off from his original plan. But as Gabriel went more and more crazy and the videos about Emilie waked her up. Also during the time she was bedridden she had plenty of time reflecting on her wrong doings as well.

Although, she wasn’t able to do much to stop Gabriel because of the state that she was in near the end and if she revealed the truth about Monarch then she would also get found out.

Natalie was definitely shocked and confused but also happy to learn about Gabriel’s final choice, still she wouldn’t declare him as a hero after everything that he did, and she definitely feels guilty of what she did as well, but would play along for the sake of Adrien’s happiness.

Lila (or whatever her real name)

Since we yet to learn what her true motives are, I don’t have much of an idea what she would do and why, but she’d definitely benefit form this situation.

Lila figured out Hawkmoth's true identity much earlier than Marinette and she was also able to collect informations about him and his past and most certainly knows that Adrien is a sentimonster as well. And let's not forget that she was able to seize the butterfly miraculous and rumored to be the next Hawkmoth. Because of these she has some advantage and could reveal the truth to Adrien, to Paris and to the World at any moment. And for this reason, Gabriel being a celebrated hero, comes in handy for her.

Just imagine this situation: Lila wants Marinette to loose everything and become pitiful. And what would make Marinette more distressed than seeing her beloved boyfriend being miserable? So Lila would reveal the truth to Adrien with showing all of the information that she collected as a proof, Adrien starts to loose all trust in his late father and Nathalie, maybe even in his late mother as well. He had already shown signs of being emotionally unstable before and this would be the last straw, not even Marinette would be able to comfort him. Lila, of course would observe the situation carefully from afar, waiting for the right opportunity. Adrien because of all of this, became so careless that he transforms into Chat Noir which Lila saw and akumatize him. Then BOOM... Chat Blanc became the future that Ladybug wanted to avoided at all cost...

That’s one hell of a scenario, but seeing how Lila became so obsessed with completely destroying Marinette, I think she’d do something like that. Also with having an as powerful akumatized ally as Chat Blanc on her side she'd be unstoppable.

So what’s the deal with Tomoe Tsurugi?

At first I thought that she would be furious about Gabriel messing up their whole plan about gaining Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s miraculouses to create a new world with a wish, but Tomoe likely realized that she could very well use this to her advantage and created this image about Gabriel as the hero of Paris. But why would she needed to do that?

The Alliance rings

The Alliance rings basically were one of the biggest main issues in the 5th season. They were created by Gabriel and Tomoe which was known all across the Globe, there was a whole marketing campaign about it, featuring Adrien and Lila, later Kagami.

When the Alliance rings started to turn almost every users into a Ladybug and Chat Noir hunting robot, every sane person instantly thought about Monarch making all the mess. But how come no one seems to connect the whole ruckus to Gabriel and Tomoe? [It shouldn’t be a surprise since the majority of the characters are blind.] Even if no one suspects either to be Monarch, the happenings should connect Gabriel and Tomoe to him in some way.

So I think, Tomoe wanted to avert suspicion by creating this hero image.

The head of the Tsurugi Industries probably wasn’t pleased that her partner in crime changed his mind last minute, had a different wish than they agreed on and Ladybug was able to get back all the miraculouses (except Nooroo). Now she also has to face the possiblity of getting caught, that people would slowly [really slowly] start to realize that she also had something to do with all of this. So how could she be able to avert the suspicion?

By playing the victim.

Deceiving the public by saying that her and Gabriel were both used by Monarch and that they couldn’t do anything because they were threatened with Adrien’s and Kagami’s life, so their only choice was to help him hijack the Alliance rings. With that it was easy to see Gabriel’s action as heroic because in the eyes of the people he just wanted to save his son by sacrificing himself, and Tomoe is also able to continue her pursue for the miraculouses without people suspecting anything.

To make things worse, she’s now taken over the Agreste brand, and it also looks like all those inventions, to make Paris more eco friendly [you can see them at the end of the season 5 finale] are also products of the Tsurugi Industries. And let's be real, I'm certain that she wants to control Paris from the background by swamping the city with her machines. The statue of Gabriel, which was created from the remaining Alliance rings, looks suspicious as well.

I hope it's not a complete bs theory

[lordmartiya]

This prompt done by someone literal minded... What am I gonna do now?

Day 6: Injury (Hurt/Comfort)

Marinette had one weird day as Ladybug. First she had to go to the police with a gas mask to retrieve the pair of Miracolous, then, since she hadn’t been involved in the fight, had to wash them the hard way rather than use magic (thankfully Lila had shared the recipe to remove what remained after the tomato juice), then she had to go to Master Fu’s massage parlor, where Master Su had taken residence, drag him away from the tv, and explain what had happened, or at least what she knew.

And now that Lila had finally left the Prefecture (because the mess was too big for anything less than the headquarters of the police to handle, even without the whole “daughter of a diplomat” thing) she was supposed to meet her in front of Place des Vosges and get a full explanation, except she was sitting over the piled up bodies of four of Adrien’s stalkers waving her diplomatic passport, symbol of the diplomatic immunity she was taught not to use unless necessary, to Roger Raincomprix. Only good thing was that she was wearing MARINETTE’S dress, the one she had given her for the modeling job that changed their relationship. That, and the cop seemingly accepted he was more useless than usual, given Lila left him to deal with the stalkers.

“Ok, what the fuck.” Marinette demanded.

“They decided this morning’s events were part of a cunning plan to get Adrien all to myself, and tried to stop me without being able to handle the pain from a spleen shot.” Lila explained with a smile. “Hope I ruptured them.”

“No, I mean this morning!”

“Well, I was making my usual report to Gabby when he noticed my new decoy necklace, the one I had you make to hide the fact I wear the Fox Miraculous as a belt under the dress, and he asked if he could see it. I didn’t like him handling it so I said no, he threatened my job, I told him my mom’s lawyer can beat his lawyers, he said “Nooroo, Dusuu, unify”, and I sprayed him right as he was done transforming. Then I ran out of the room, closed the door, and called the police, and some idiot soon to be unemployed must have blabbed to the press since it got out so quickly. Oh, I also swiped his ring, there’s a thing I need to verify. It’s stupid and unlikely, but considering YOU have an embarrassingly plain costume…”

“Can you just let it go?”

“Giammai.” that being Italian for “never”, only hammier.

Marinette didn’t know if she should be angry or laugh. Or how they had gone from sworn enemies to this. Whatever it was that made Lila’s teasing so amusing rather than irritating, that made her want to spend as much time as possible with her. To just make sure she would never be lonely.

Before she could decide how to react, however, a smart stopped near them, and Nathalie Sanscour came out.

“This is for Gabriel and Emilie.” she said as she pulled a small pistol – and shot Lila in the chest.

“NO!” Marinette screamed as her pretend girlfriend fell. She then turned to the attacker and demanded: “Why?!”

“Because Gabriel was just trying to save Emilie. She was put in a coma and almost killed by the broken Peacock Miraculous, and-”

“And the fucker couldn’t just ask for help.” Lila’s pained voice replied before taking a deep breath – immediately imitated by Marinette, she knew what was coming.

After Nathalie got skunked, the two girls moved to safety, with Lila in clear pain and a hole in the dress but no wound. Only when they were far enough from the skunked shooter Marinette asked how Lila survived.

“A guy in Mexico makes normal-looking bulletproof clothes, there’s where my mom bought my shirts in bulk and where I just got a few undershirts.” Lila explained. “Already got shot once for an ad, though the guy had the decency to use a small .22 Long Rifle from some distance, not shooting me at point blank with a Para or larger! Seriously, that’s a Beretta Storm subcompact, it only has the 9 Para or the .40 Smith & Wesson.”

Marinette didn’t know what kind of madman made those ads, only that she felt dying when Lila was shot – and happy beyond belief when she turned out almost unharmed. How? How had she fallen for this girl?

 Afterword

Yep. Got Lila shot. I was initially planning to have one of the fan club do it, but this is Western Europe, guns are more controlled than that. Thus Nathalie did it, and is going to jail skunked.

For the bulletproof clothes… They exist, and wealthy people do buy them. Go on YouTube and look up “I was shot by Miguel Caballero”, that madman actually makes ads by shooting his customers (and his wife) at close range with a target pistol to show off that yes, his products do stop small cartridges flat (literally).

[jasmine-the-fox]

For those who (do not) ring the bells

azv2448 now A29Z10 can really come up with ideas I see… but how about you all read it and tell me what you all think alright?

Let’s go!!

Due to Cat Noir refusing to help Ladybug… she had no choice but to call for outside help… specifically from Gotham. She contacted the Justice League first and explained with proof thanks to her loyal team (Chloe aka Queen Bee, Luka aka Viperion and Kagami aka Ryuko) she was quickly transferred to Batman who is their well-known detective and he agreed to come with his team to help them take down Hawkmoth, Mayura and Lila Rossi once and for all.

Thanks to them, things were easier for Ladybug when defeating akuma’s, in fact as Marinette she had more breathing room to work on her clothing designs then before when Cat Noir would refuse to come help during an akuma battle. Soon, Batman revealed that they had uncovered Hawkmoth and Mayura’s identities… meaning they could fight them and Lila at long last.

But… things aren’t always so easy…

Cat Noir arrives before Ladybug with a determined look on his face “I’m giving you a choice Ladybug: be with me or I will never come back to help” he said which shocked everyone. Ladybug sighed before speaking “I don’t feel the same towards you Cat Noir. No matter how many times you ask me to date you… my answer will never change to a yes” she replied.

This angered him and Cat Noir moved to attack her but luckily Robin moved just in time and saved her while reclaiming the ring for her from her horrible partner… revealing Cat Noir to be Adrien Agreste… Marinette’s old crush.

Ashamed of losing the ring, Adrien runs from the group in the hopes that Ladybug will feel bad and come for him and return the ring while agreeing to date him. But she never did, he waited and then walked home only to be shocked as he watched his father and Nathalie being taken away while being called Hawkmoth and Mayura.

He faintly noticed in Ladybug’s hand the butterfly and peacock miraculous which proved his father and Nathalie were Hawkmoth and Mayura. Scared of being also arrested, Adrien ran to Nino’s place to stay for a night, in the privacy of Nino’s room he told him what he saw which shocked Nino. He said he could get his parents to let him stay for a few nights but nothing more… he would need to return home at some point sadly.

Days go by, Gabriel, Nathalie and Lila were revealed for there crimes and actions… resulting in everyone hating them. Luckily Adrien wasn’t affected by it and was able to return home, the class felt angry and betrayed for believing Lila from the start which resulted in them cutting contact with her. Adrien felt bad for Lila but it was bound to happen in the end, during this time Adrien thought long and hard before deciding to go after Marinette to be his girlfriend.

She was perfect in so many ways and he was certain that she would be a better Ladybug then the one he had fallen for first, as a result he went over to the bakery to ask her out on a date… only to find a stranger working to register “Oh sorry but they moved. Turns out their daughter got a scholarship somewhere and they moved with her” he said before Adrien left the bakery to find the rest of the class.

On there end… they were told that Mari moved to America which resulted in them having no idea on where she was exactly. Adrien tried to find her but he only got dead ends each time, then one day… years later, he found Mari.

There was a fashion celebrity show in Gotham and Mari was the guest on the show, Adrien was so happy and excited that he told the entire class about the news and helped them buy tickets to fly to Gotham with him to talk to Marinette at long last. Mari was out heading for an appointment when Adrien ran after her, she sighed while Tikki grumbled from inside her purse as Adrien caught up “What do you want Agreste?” she asked which shocked Adrien greatly.

No blushing red, not stuttering through his name… nothing! Just a glare and a cold tone in her voice, Adrien was so shocked as Mari checked the time on her watch making him quickly speak “I like you Marinette! Please go out with me!” he said which to his shock… got no reaction out of Marinette “I don’t like you that way Agreste… besides I’m getting married. Now leave me alone” she said and walked away from him.

Angry that he was rejected, he went back to the class and lied to them about his encounter with Mari “She was crying! She want’s to be with me but her parents are forcing her to marry an older guy who hurts her!” he said which angered the class and made them determined to stop the wedding no matter what… but they fail, instead they are thrown out just seconds into entering the venue by security with Mari glaring at them.

“I don’t know what Agreste told you and I honestly don’t care… just know that he also knew about Rossi and her lies and instead of helping me to tell you… he kept quiet and told me to take the high road” she said before going back inside to finish getting ready for her big day.

The class, angry by her words glared at Adrien before leaving him behind in silence, Adrien as a result loses his mind… he slowly works to earn money and buys a house in Gotham and then works to plan out his life with Mari… years later he is sent to Arkham “You can’t do this to me! Mari and I love each other! Just ask her!!” he screams as he’s being taken to his cell “Shut it Agreste! Miss Wayne told us how you claimed her and mister Wayne’s kids as yours and how she loved you after Batman save them” a guard said before throwing Adrien into his cell and walked away.

Leaving Adrien to scream out for Marinette… begging her to get him out and to explain her love for him… only for it to never happen as she loves Damian no matter what…